Fudge, Gore tout crossover appeal in first forum for supervisor race

In their first forum Wednesday in the race for 4th District Sonoma County supervisor, Windsor Councilwoman Deb Fudge and former White House appointee James Gore both sought to cross political lines while addressing a number of traditionally divisive issues, including road maintenance, affordable housing, the drought and land-use projects.

The closely fought contest to replace Supervisor Mike McGuire has each candidate seeking an advantage with just five weeks remaining until Election Day, and Wednesday’s lunch-hour forum - held at a Santa Rosa hotel and attended by about 50 people - showed that Fudge and Gore are reaching out to sway voters not yet decided between the rivals.

Fudge’s supporters include environmental groups and Gore’s backers include farming interests, but both candidates took pains to emphasize their crossover appeal.

“I believe we can have a strong agricultural industry and maintain our rural character and have environmental quality,” Gore said. “I love bringing people together on issues that quite honestly sometimes make everybody a little bit mad.”

Fudge said she, too, can balance environmental and agricultural interests.

“I’m tagged as not being business friendly and that is a complete falsehood,” she said, pointing to her work on the Windsor Town Council and the development of the Windsor Town Green.

The event, at the Best Western Plus Wine Country Inn and Suites, was sponsored by the Mark West Chamber of Commerce. The audience included officials from the Sonoma County Farm Bureau and the Sonoma County Alliance, which have endorsed Gore, and leaders from the North Bay Labor Council, which has thrown its support to Fudge.

Moderator Doug Williams, chief of the Central Fire Authority of Sonoma County, posed questions submitted by the chamber of commerce and others submitted by audience members. Fudge and Gore did not directly address one another.

Several questions were intended to highlight the candidates’ views on protecting the county’s “rural character” in the face of population growth, housing shortages and the need for economic development. The Bay Area is set to add up to 2 million people by 2040, making the nine-county region home to 9 million residents. It would need 1.1 million more jobs and 660,000 housing units to absorb that growth.

“How would you maintain our quality of life if population continues to grow?” Williams asked.

Fudge said she’d form citizens’ advisory groups to inform county supervisors on development issues, “so your voice is heard,” she told the crowd.

Gore noted that most large housing and commercial development projects occur within city boundaries. He argued that should remain the case.

“Nobody thinks the 4th District should be filled with big-box stores,” he said.

Candidates said they’d balance development projects with neighborhood groups’ desire to preserve their safety and tranquility. Gore seemed to favor a lighter regulatory approach, however, saying that the county should “get out of the way” of business.

Fudge, 58, a retired PG&E environmental specialist and senior program manager, repeatedly mentioned her planning background and voting record over 18 years on the Windsor Town Council. She also highlighted her role as a board member for the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit authority.

“SMART will bring higher-paying jobs,” Fudge said. “And with higher-paying jobs comes the housing that goes with that.”

Gore, 36, said he’d increase jobs and housing opportunities here by supporting a proposed countywide living-wage ordinance and creating incentives for developers to build affordable and low-income housing. He said a neighbor of his is being forced to move because of the high cost of housing. The county’s current median sales price for a single-family home, $475,000, is up 8.7 percent from a year ago.

Fudge said she also would support a living-wage law, and she went further on housing, saying she would support building low-income units in unincorporated parts of the county for farmworkers and service industry employees, who routinely fall at the bottom of the income ladder.

“We need to re-plan some areas and provide different types of housing,” she said.

Candidates exchanged ideas about streamlining permit application and approval for businesses, with Fudge saying she started her own jam-making business to experience the process for herself. Gore said he’d use political savvy and connections he gained while working for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Washington, D.C., to eliminate bureaucratic red tape.

The candidates staked out similar positions on dealing with California’s prolonged drought, agreeing on the need to measure groundwater levels, better manage flows from Lake Mendocino and encourage water conservation. Both affirmed their support for a sales tax increase to fix the county’s crumbling roads, but Gore went slightly further than Fudge, saying if elected, he’d consider dedicating additional general fund monies to road repair.

The hourlong debate also raised questions about education, a relatively new issue for the candidates. Gore said he’d look at starting internship and apprenticeship programs with area schools, while Fudge said she’d consider donating use of county parks, including ball fields, so schools could rededicate money to other programming.

Among the questions posed by audience members, one sought to hear how the candidates would work with the current board if elected.

Supervisors Susan Gorin and Shirlee Zane have endorsed Fudge, while Gore has been endorsed by Board Chairman David Rabbitt. Both candidates they have not sought an endorsement from Supervisor Efren Carrillo.

“I have worked with this Board of Supervisors, all of them,” Fudge said. “I serve with Rabbitt on SMART, I’m friends with Susan Gorin and I helped run her (2012) campaign. I work with Shirlee on SMART as well, and I called on Efren to come to Windsor to help pass Sonoma Clean Power.”

Gore said he’d seek the “respect and trust” of the board, noting that “it takes three to get anything done.”

Two other forums are planned in the race, including an Oct. 2 event hosted by the League of Women Voters and one on Oct. 8 hosted by the California Parenting Institute.

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ahartreports.